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Pakistan: Expelled University Students to Be Re-admitted?

Manaal Khurram

Earlier this month, two university-going students landed in hot waters after a video of them went viral on the internet.

 

 

What happened:

In the clip, a female student enrolled at the University of Lahore was seen going down on one knee and proposing to her male classmate with a bouquet of roses. The act did not sit well with many social media users who called them out for promoting vulgarity, as well as the institution’s varsity, who immediately expelled both, the boy and girl.

 

What the university did:

According to the notice issued by the university, the students “failed to appear in the special meeting of Disciplinary Committee on March 12.” The notice added that the two students had been expelled and banned from entering the university premises for “violating University rules and regulations and serious infraction of the code of conduct.”

 

Backlash:

 

 

 

Several celebrities including Mira Sethi and Jibran Nasir condemned the decision. “Two Lahori students expelled because of a public marriage proposal and subsequent display of affection. What a violent, toxic mess this is. A State that surveils, censors and bans all things natural and joyous, not realising THIS is how you brutalize a society,” tweeted Sethi. Echoing her sentiments, Nasir added, “A country where pedophiles are defended and protected in the name of child marriage and converting religion of little girls, we are uncomfortable with two consenting adults expressing love for each other. We reduce our so-called morals to a joke every day #UniversityOfLahore.”

 

He continued, “People are mad because two young adults had the courage to not give a damn about this hypocritical society where we top the google list for searching all sorts of perverted sexual fantasies, where harassers are celebrated and pedophiles are protected. May their true love shine bright.”

 

 

 

Rabeeya Seemul Latif, a Karachiite, who runs a popular all-girls page on Facebook, penned, “Expressing love in this country led 2 college kids to expulsion. But sexual harassers can roam freely. Rapist are given the benefit of the doubt. Animals are shot multiple times.Endangering the lives of women in the Aurat March has no consequences. No room for love.” Another user argued, “They expelled two students for being in love, meanwhile the teacher who sexually harasses students in the campus still stays.”

 

 

 

One more tweet read, “THIS is what institutions think is worth taking immediate action on. Not on-campus harassment, but a proposal. No wonder this country is going to shit, when the institutions’ priorities are like this.” Summing up the thoughts of most of us, a user shared, “Just another regular day in Pakistan, I see.”

 

Needless to say, there were a large proportion of Pakistanis who agreed with the University of Lahore’s decision to expel the students. They felt that such things should not take place in schools based in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, stating that such instances foster liberal values and vulgar behaviour.

 

What’s happening now:

 

Taking matters in his own hands, the Ministry of Human Rights Parliamentary Secretary Lal Chand Malhi deemed the University of Lahore’s decision, to expel two students for hugging on campus, an “overreaction” and asked the varsity to re-admit them, reported Dawn.

 

In a letter to the vice chancellor, dated March 16, Malhi said the students had been expelled without being given an opportunity to explain themselves or examining all the details of the incident. He termed the university’s action as “moral policing” and said deviant behaviour should instead be controlled through counselling, noting that such services were mostly not provided by university administrations.

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Malhi said their expulsion was “certainly uncalled for and an evident case of violation of the human rights of the students”. The statement continued, “Both the girl and the boy did not commit such a heinous crime for which they were punished severely and expelled from the university. This would destroy their career and future education opportunities.”

 

Noting that the two had proposed to each other on March 8, International Women’s Day, the letter concluded, “This kind of freedom is outlined in article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which Pakistan is party and also under the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

 

 

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